American Go E-Journal

Michael Redmond 9P defeated Cho U 9P by half a point in the first round of the 17th Agon Cup on Friday. Stay tuned for more details as they become available. This week’s Member’s Edition of the American Go E-Journal will include Redmond’s commentary on his May 6 win against Nakano Hironari 9P which got him into the 16-player Agon Cup final. CLICK HERE for the E-Journal’s recent interview with Redmond.
– includes reporting by JustPlayGo

With his fourth-round win in the Honinbo on Friday, Yamashita Keigo 9P has taken a 3-1 lead over Hane Naoki 9P. This would be the first Honinbo title for Yamashita; Hane has held the title for the past two years. The fifth round will be played on June 28-29.– JustPlayGo

FINDING MEMBER GAME COMMENTARIES: “I just recently started receiving the AGA journal for members,” writes Denis Pelletier. “The main reason for doing so was for the commented games. How do I go about finding the commented games?” Game commentaries are marked as Member’s Edition content in the E-Journal; click on “read more” to play through the game in an online viewer or click on “link” to download the .sgf file (you’ll need an sgf reader).

NEW EJ MORE POLISHED & EASY TO READ: “Just wanted to drop you a line that this week’s E-Journal was very cool,” writes Aaron Cammarata. “It’s looking much more polished and easy to read. I enjoyed reading about the Santa Monica Coffee Cup (kudos to them for bringing some fun into the entire competition, with theme color, and coffee-themed division names! I wish I still lived down there!). Also, big time congratulations on signing Michael Redmond as a regular contributor – I’m looking forward to reading more of his thoughts in the future.”While Aaron’s comments reflect the majority of the responses to the E-Journal’s new look, several readers have had trouble with images in the new format. There are images in the Member’s Edition (click here to subscribe) but some browsers block them and you’ll need to click on the appropriate approval (varies by browser) to view them. Non-member subscribers can see the images – along with complete reports — by clicking on “read more.”

Kyeong-nang Kang 7d swept the 2010 Hungarian International Tournament, going 5-0 at the June 4-6 event in Budapest. Pál Balogh 6d was second and Pavol Lisý 4d took third, both coming in just ahead of long-time teacher Csaba Mérõ 6d, and all with three wins. There were 44 participants in the tournament.– EuroGoTV

Frank Janssen 6d (r) was perfect through seven rounds to win the 2010 Dutch Korean Ambassador’s Cup, held June 12-13 in Delft. Michiel Eijkhout 6d, Willem-Koen Pomstra 5d, and Rudi Verhagen 5d were all 5-2, each having lost to Janssen and once to each other, and came in 2nd through 4th respectively. There were 14 players in the tournament, which is a qualifier for the Dutch representative to the Korean Prime Minister’s Cup.– EuroGoTV

Mladen Smud 1k (r) won the four-round Bundek Open Go Tournament, held June 12 in Zagreb, Croatia. Vedran Vasiljevic 2d was second, losing only to Smud (who was a strong 4d fifteen years ago), while Vigor Grego 1d was third, losing only to Vasiljevic. This was the final tournament of ten in the first Croatian Go League, which was won by Matthew Zakanj 3d with Smud in second.– EuroGoTV

Contested seats in the Eastern and Central regions highlight this year’s AGA Board of Directors election. Andrew Jackson is challenging incumbent Chuck Robbins in the Eastern region while current Central Region board member Roy Schmidt is being challenged by Daniel Smith and Lisa Scott. Andrew Okun is unopposed in the Western Regon, as is At-Large member Jie Li. Current AGA chapters are eligible to vote in the election, weighted by membership; ballots will be sent to each current chapter on June 21 and must be returned by July 30. The votes will be counted at the U.S. Go Congress and the results announced. CLICK HERE for candidate statements (if any; there are none as of press-time), voting procedures and rules. “Chapter representatives should have received their current voting rights,” reports Arnold Eudell. Report any discrepancy or your current contact information to him at elections@usgo.org

Lee Changho 9P announced his engagement to Cyberoro reporter Yi Doyun on Tuesday. Miss Yi Doyun is a strong baduk player as well, and the couple said they plan to have between one and three children.– JustPlayGo

The opportunity to learn from top professional go players has always been a major attraction of the annual U.S. Go Congress, set this year for July 31 – August 8 in Colorado Springs, CO. This year’s roster of pros includes a very special visit by Yasumasa Hane 9P (right, in blue jacket) well-known as a major contributor in the development of the Chinese fuseki as well as the father of Naoki Hane 9P (far left, in tan jacket), the current Honinbo and a former holder of the Kisei and Tengen titles. Hane’s family — wife Masami 1k (left front), daughter Michiyo Yamamori 1k (back center) daughter-in-law Shigeko Hane 1P (back left, next to husband Naoki), and Shigeko’s daughters Ayaka 1k, Ranka 1k and Rinka 4k(center) — will also be attending and playing in the U.S. Open. “It’s a great honor to host such a famous and impressively strong go family,” says American Go Association President Allan Abramson. “We look forward to learning much from the Hane family.” Also attending the Congress this year are defending U.S. Open champion Myung Wan Kim 9P (US), Seong-yong Kim 9P of Korea, Ming Jiu Jiang 7P US, Yilun Yang 7P (US), Ryo Maeda 6P (Japan), Cheng Xiaoliu 6P (China), Jennie Shen 2P (US), Hui Ren Yang 1P (US), Cathy (Chen Shuo) Li 1P (China), and Qiao Shiyao 1P (China). CLICK HERE for details and to register for the U.S. Go Congress.– Chris Garlock; photo courtesy the Hane family. Includes reporting by Yuki Shigeno

While top professionals do lose big games now and again, it seems a bit unusual for so many to be struggling at the same time. In the past few weeks, Korean pro Lee Sedol 9P has lost a few important games he was expected to win, and Lee Changho 9P has been in a painful slump. Now, it looks possible that things could get rocky for a few Chinese players as well.

Kong Jie 9P, Chang Hao 9P, and Nie Weiping 9P were all eliminated in the first round of the 3rd Quzhou-Lanke Cup, which ended this Wednesday. Nie Weiping’s loss to Shi Yue 4P was not too surprising, as Shi Yue is one of China’s better mid-level pros and may move to the top level in the future. Chang Hao lost to Li Zhe 6P, a mid-level pro, who has played very competitively against Kong Jie, Gu Li 9P, Chang Ho, Lee Sedol, and other top players.

The big surprise in the first round came when Jiang Weijie 5P defeated Kong Jie. Jiang Weijie turned pro in 2005 and is a solid player, but has yet to win a major tournament. Gu Li, the defending Quzhuo-Lanke Cup champion, was the only top Chinese pro to make it out of the first round, defeating Zhong Weijing 5P by resignation.– JustPlayGo